Martín Ramírez

Martín Ramírez

1895–1963, b. Tepatitlan, Mexico; d. Auburn, California

Brought to the attention of the art world by Jim Nutt, this Mexican-born artist's drawings rank among the greatest achievements in American vernacular art. Ramirez was institutionalized for thirty years at California’s DeWitt State Hospital, never speaking. Psychologist Dr. Tarmo Pasto encouraged Ramirez’s creative output during his lifetime; his body of work is believed to include no more than 300 drawings. Ramirez developed a distinctive, enigmatic iconography that references his little-known past, both as a youth in Mexico and as a railroad worker in the United States.